Mozart and Strauss were Ashkenazy’s private passions - he felt a deep affection for them. In Mozart he devoted particular attention to the concertante pieces, in Strauss what fascinated him were the extreme polarities: simplicity versus great complexity, folksiness versus anarchic avant-garde...more
"Beide gemeinsam liefern hier eine runde, eindringliche, aber nicht zergrübelte, im besten Sinne des Wortes "klassische" Mozart-Interpretation ab. Für Freunde von Richard Strauss-Orchesterwerken mag die hinzugefügte Symphonia domestica ein zusätzliches Argument sein." (NDR Kultur)
Details
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart & Richard Strauss: Violin Concerto K 219 & Symphonia Domestica | |
article number: | 97.535 |
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EAN barcode: | 4022143975355 |
price group: | BCR |
release date: | 12. March 2008 |
total time: | 78 min. |
Informationen
Mozart and Strauss were Ashkenazy’s private passions - he felt a deep affection for them. In Mozart he devoted particular attention to the concertante pieces, in Strauss what fascinated him were the extreme polarities: simplicity versus great complexity, folksiness versus anarchic avant-garde sound effects, the contrast between programme music and abstract music. This presented Ashkenazy with a fascinating interpretative challenge both intellectual and musical.
The programme of the Symphonia domestica depicts a day (including night and love) in the life of the Strauss family, painted on a broad symphonic canvas. However, Ashkenazy explored the work as music per se; for him the programme was of secondary importance, merely throwing a little light on the composer’s personality. That music has meaning in its abstract configurations was obvious to him from very early on.
The performance of Mozart’s A major Violin Concerto K 219 reveals the full extent of the unsual strong musical chemistry between Pinchas Zukerman and Vladimir Ashkenazy: Soloist and conductor perform on the basis of a totally shared concept of the work. This is no surprise: Zukerman and Ashkenazy knew each other well, frequently playing chamber music together during the 1990s.
Vladimir Ashkenazy was the chief conductor of what is now the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin from 1989 to 1999. This CD brings together live concert recordings made during the middle of his tenure and in his last season with the orchestra.
Reviews
Diverdi Magazin | 189 / febrero 2010 | Pablo Batallán | February 1, 2010
Un camino propio
Ashkenazy dirige un espléndido monográfico Martinu con el pianista Robert Kolinsky y la Sinfonieorchesrer Basel
La obra de Bohuslav Martinu es una caja de sorpresas para el aficionado. Los discos se suelen portar bien con el músico bohemio muerto en Suiza y deMehr lesen
Este disco reúne dos conciertos para piano y orquesta. El Segundo se estrenó en Praga en 1935 – por Rudolf Firkusny y la Filarmónica Checa dirigida por Vaclav Talich. El mismo pianista lo reestrenaría igualmente en 1944 en Nueva York tras la revisión a que lo sometiera el autor, quien va pensó en ella nada mas escuchar por la radio, desde Paris, la première. El Cuarto se subtitula Incantation y es una obra espléndida. Es cierto que el Segundo es el mas conocido de los suyos pero este postrero, con la originalidad de los dos movimientos, la lírica exultante de alguno de sus episodios – ese estallido orquestal en el primer movimiento, por ejemplo – que recuerdan a Janácek, que hacen pensar en la dialéctica entre la plenitud inferior y la imposibilidad de volver a la patria, es ciertamente único en su género. Y, por otra parle, muy siglo XX, para entendernos, muy de esa onda estética que fundiendo neoclasicismo y eso que llamamos modernidad elude la vanguardia – no podía ser de otro mudo – para autoafirmarse en una suerte de discurso propio bien seguro de si a pesar de todo. Lo estrenarían, en Nueva York, Firkusny y Stokowski en 1956. Junto a los dos conciertos hallamos además una preciosa Obertura de 1953, de raigambre neoclásica – neobarroca más bien pues el pretexto son, con aplastante evidencia, tos conciertos de Brandenburgo de Bach – pero con un lenguaje que no puede ser más del autor y de esa su época final. Y como obra mas conocida del programa, quizá una de las cumbres de toda la producción de Marrinu, Los frescos de Piero della Francesca, de 1955, dedicada a Rafael Kubelik y estrenada bajo su dirección por la Filarmónica de Viena en el Festival de Salzburgo de 1956.
Las versiones de los dos conciertos están protagonizadas por un pianista nuevo para quien esto escribe, el suizo Robert Kolinsky, quien negocia las obras con la soltura propia – en lo técnico y estilístico – de alguien que ha estudiado con Jan Panenka y, a lo que se ve, asimilado a la perfección sus enseñanzas. Ashkenazy, por su parte, acompaña con excelencia en las obras concertantes y firma grandísimas versiones de la Obertura y Los frescos, haciendo sonar estupendamente a la orquesta suiza – se ha convertido en un trotamundos, de Praga a Tokio, de Sidney a Helsinki, de Londres a Basilea – , demostrando de nuevo tras su Asrael qué bien le va con este interés suyo por repertorios poco habituales y sumándose, en defintiva, a los grandes directores que se comprometieron con esca música tan hermosa y tan ilustradora de lo que han sido tos avalares de la cultura europea del pasado siglo. Un gran disco.
Fanfare | Issue 32:2 (Nov/Dec 2008) | Arthur Lintgen | November 1, 2008
This CD documents broadcast performances in 1996 (Mozart Violin Concerto) and 1998 (Symphonia domestica). The program notes make a big deal of theMehr lesen
www.classicstodayfrance.com | Novembre 2008 | Christophe Huss | November 1, 2008
Ashkenazy fut, avant Nagano et Metzmacher, le chef du DSO Berlin. CesMehr lesen
www.musicweb-international.com | September 2008 | Mark Sebastian Jordan | September 5, 2008
This disc provides a pleasant snapshot of the work of Vladimir Ashkenazy live in concert with the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester, Berlin, the ensembleMehr lesen
Ashkenazy has shown a strong commitment to Strauss both in concert and in the recording studio, so his Symphonia Domestica is a welcome visitor. The live performance from 1998 captured here brings Ashkenazy’s soulful warmth and a delight in Strauss’s orchestral effects—yes, even the vulgar ones, such as the infamous crying baby sequence. This release serves well to represent this part of Strauss’s body of works in Ashkenazy’s career, as well as a nice souvenir of his work in Berlin. I have seen that Ondine also released a Symphonia Domestica from when Ashkenazy conducted the Czech Philharmonic, but I haven’t been able to hear that for comparison.
The present performance is amply satisfying, even if doesn’t unseat any of the great recordings of the past, especially considering that a couple of those are performed by formidable representatives of what was once known as “the American sound”. It is ironic that the two conductors most responsible for creating that highly virtuosic orchestral sound with whip-crack precision and muscular power were middle-European conductors. Fritz Reiner and George Szell used their orchestras in Chicago and Cleveland, respectively, as laboratories for attaining the elusive perfection demanded by the complex scores of Strauss and Mahler, while honing their players on the bread-and-butter repertory of Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms. Strauss figured prominently in both conductors’ work, albeit more so in Reiner’s, as Szell seemed to maintain a slightly skeptical view of Strauss’s exuberance, while Reiner enjoyed transforming that boundless energy into purely abstract music. In the end, they both left us with great recordings of Symphonia Domestica.
But to buck received wisdom, there is an often underrated conductor whom I am inclined to think actually surpassed Szell and Reiner in this work, and that is Zubin Mehta. If there is one symphonic work Mehta was born to conduct, it is the Symphonia Domestica. His good-natured charm and delight buoy the orchestral effects in a way that others don’t. Szell, for all his clarity and vigor, seems a bit stiff in comparison. Reiner, for all his sonic splendor, seems unwilling to indulge in Strauss’s affectionate teasing of married life, remaining just on this side of tasteful reserve. Mehta pushes it out a little further, taking the spirited pictures for what they are: slices of the life of a successful, untroubled artist. By not shying away from the blatantly programmatic elements of this score, Mehta unexpectedly reveals that there are true depths lurking beneath the surface sentiment. While Reiner is delicate in the “Cradle Song” of the “Scherzo” section, and Szell is gentle, Mehta is the one who captures the precious magic of a quiet moment between parents and child. Likewise, in the following “Adagio”, Mehta finds the selfless devotion at the heart of the music, which the somewhat restless Szell recording misses, and the smoothly flowing Reiner smoothes over.
In separate sections, one could say that others trump Mehta, but in terms of overall excellence and coherence of vision, he comes out on top with an unhurried, spacious performance clocking in at almost 46 minutes. Szell is arguably better in the opening of the work, energetically presenting the themes with plenty of personality. His tight control never relaxes, bringing the work under the wire at almost five minutes faster than Mehta’s Berlin Philharmonic recording for CBS. Reiner, being a little more relaxed, captures more of the gentle side of the score than Szell, though without the simple sincerity of Mehta. One rare performance worth hearing is a live 1945 air check led by Bruno Walter which the New York Philharmonic released in a box set of historic broadcasts almost a decade ago; it’s still available directly from the orchestra. Walter’s tempos are as brisk as Szell’s, but despite the limited mono sound, the live concert situation proves that with a little encouragement from an audience, the over-the-top finale can truly romp. Speaking of Mehta, I have not had the chance to hear his Los Angeles Philharmonic performance of the Symphonia Domestica, and have made my above comments based on his Berlin remake, couple with a fine Burleske with Daniel Barenboim as piano soloist. But considering that Mehta’s L.A. Zarathustra and Alpine Symphony are both better than later remakes, I would love to hear his early Domestica, currently available in a Decca box set.
Ashkenazy’s orchestra is no match for the plummy perfection of Cleveland or Chicago, but their slightly leaner tone helps in terms of clarity, though Ashkenazy doesn’t do as much sonic sculpting as a Reiner or Szell. Ashkenazy’s obvious affection for the work does however remind me of Mehta. The live one-off recording preserves a fine sense of occasion, though there is little bloom to the recorded sound. I have often heard Berlin’s Philharmonie praised as a great place to hear a live concert in person, though live recordings from the venue rarely find a sweet spot for microphones, and this one is no different. Note that the total disc time listed above reflects the inclusion of about five minutes of applause which is, mercifully, separately tracked. I enjoy the sense of occasion in live recordings that keep the applause, but I can’t imagine myself wanting to re-enact a full concert scenario with endless applause very often.
As for the Mozart, I would say that most performers would not make this work a comfortable disc-mate for Symphonia Domestica, but then most performers aren’t Pinchas Zukerman. Ashkenazy very much follows his soloist’s manner, provided a fairly leisurely, well-upholstered account of the “Turkish” Concerto. Zukerman is notorious for his reactionary stance against everything associated with historically-informed playing styles. There’s probably no major violinist today who would give a more old-fashioned sounding performance of this work. Indeed, the most apt comparison would be to Zukerman’s earlier recording of the work, done in the late 1960s for Columbia, with Daniel Barenboim conducting the English Chamber Orchestra. What is truly remarkable is that forty years on, Ashkenazy’s concept remains pretty much the same. Those who like it can claim consistency, though those who doubt it can level charges of both stubbornness and lack of imagination against the violinist.
What is amusing is that as much as Zukerman fulminates against period instrument scholarship and their fussy performance practices, at least a trace element of that spirit has crept in under the door, because this performance shaves a little over a minute of the earlier rendition, without demonstrating a different concept. Ashkenazy is arguably a little lighter in touch than Barenboim, but this remains Mozart for those looking for a throwback to older styles. On the other hand, listeners interested in those styles may instead opt for the EMI recording where Yehudi Menuhin brings a little more thoughtfulness to the work, even if he didn’t have Zukerman’s rich, dark tone by the time his rendition was recorded in the early 1960s.
Interesting finds from the vaults, then, and I hope they do well enough to encourage Audite to keep digging for more treasures. Collectors and fans will enjoy the Ashkenazy-centric booklet notes (in German and English) by Habakuk Traber, which enhance the fond sense of retrospective of a well-loved conductor’s work.
Scherzo | Septiembre 2008 | Juan García-Rico | September 1, 2008
Protagonizado por dos viejos amigos y sensacionales músicos, el presenteMehr lesen
SWR | Treffpunkt Klassik, 17. Juni 2008 | Lydia Jeschke | June 17, 2008
Heute mit Lydia Jeschke am Mikrofon und mit neuen Produktionen klassischerMehr lesen
NDR Kultur | CD-Neuheiten | 13.04.2008 19:20 Uhr | Thorsten Weber | April 13, 2008 Klassische Mozart-Interpretation
Die Wege des Musikmarktes sind manchmal ziemlich verschlungen – und so erscheint nun bei audite der Mitschnitt eines Live-Konzerts aus der BerlinerMehr lesen
Sein langjähriger Freund Pinchas Zukerman ist hier als Solist im A-Dur Violinkonzert von Mozart zu erleben und beide gemeinsam liefern hier eine runde, eindringliche, aber nicht zergrübelte, im besten Sinne des Wortes "klassische" Mozart-Interpretation ab. Für Freunde von Richard Strauss-Orchesterwerken mag die hinzugefügte Symphonia domestica ein zusätzliches Argument sein.
News
This CD documents broadcast performances in 1996 (Mozart Violin Concerto) and...
Ashkenazy fut, avant Nagano et Metzmacher, le chef du DSO Berlin. Ces...
Protagonizado por dos viejos amigos y sensacionales músicos, el presente disco...
This disc provides a pleasant snapshot of the work of Vladimir Ashkenazy live in...
Heute mit Lydia Jeschke am Mikrofon und mit neuen Produktionen klassischer und...